Through Orange Eyes
by Martin Spire Jr
Summary: Various snapshots of life centering around Martin Spire from "The World Beneath". Post-book. Pairings include MxA, DxT, MxD. Alintean pairings supported too ;
1. Secret Santa

Secret Santa: A Tzen Chronicles Fanfiction

By Martin Spire Jr.

Disclaimer: I don't own – Philip Troy does. It's an awesome book, by the way. Pick it up if you get the chance. It's a bit pricy, but worth it. There's a sequel coming out soon, I hear.

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Martin drummed his fingers on the counter of the jewelry store. His eyes stared calmly into those of the man behind the register. The two of them seemed to be engaged in a staring contest. Martin won. Even for a man barely twenty years old, his gaze was virtually renowned for its ferocity.

"S-sir, are you sure? I mean… it's the most expensive item in the store…" the clerk caved, looking at the register's price screen.

"Absolutely," Martin placed the exact change on the counter and picked up the package, carefully wrapped in gold foil and left the store without another word. The package was scarcely larger than four inches on all six sides – a perfect cube. Atop the package was a thin red ribbon.

Behind him, the clerk shook in his shoes. The man who had just left the shop had been exuding the most intimidating aura he had ever seen.

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It was Christmas. The snow fell softly, catching on Martin's Loden Coat as he walked through Steilacoom. He had put the gift in his inner pocket to keep it dry. He cast his orange eyes around, looking for trouble. Scratch that. Looking for _avoidable_ trouble. He didn't want any right now.

The coffee shop was open, despite it being Christmas Eve. The sign on the door advertised that they were closing early – at five instead of six. Big difference. Martin pushed the door open and stepped inside. Big Band music filled the air from a few speakers, and the barista was leaning on the counter, tapping her flip flop against her heel in time with the music. Martin got all the way up to the counter before realizing that the blonde was in a half-doze; her eyes closed and her mind shut down to the world.

"Two hot chocolate and two brownies," he said, startling her awake. She looked around sheepishly before scurrying off to get the brownies and make the cocoa. Martin dropped the fare on the counter and waited.

She came out and handed him the cups and brownies, the latter in a small paper bag. Martin nodded toward the change and left without another word, leaving the barista staring at his back. He traversed the remainder of his journey in silence, enjoying the snowfall as he walked.

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It was seven when he arrived at his destination. Alena Steward's house was dark, the lights having been turned off in early anticipation of the morning's celebration. He grasped one of the Air Threads and murmured the proper Incantation before floating up and through an open window.

By sheer luck, it was Alena's room. She was curled on top of her covers wearing nothing but a white nightgown. Martin felt his face heat up. He gingerly placed a cup of hot cocoa on her nightstand and cast a minor Flame Incantation to keep it warm until morning and then put the small box on her nightstand.

He paused on the way out and placed two fingers against her ankle. Her skin was freezing. As quietly and softly as he could, he pulled the blanket up over her shoulders, feeling her relax. To his surprise, she began to stir. With a flying leap, he was out the window. He hovered there for a moment, looking back through the window at Alena. "Merry Christmas."


	2. 25 Sentences for Martin and Alena

All characters are property of Philip Troy. Keep writing, pal!

I asked my friend to give me the first 25 words he thought of randomly. I then put up a 1-liner for MartinxAlena. Here you go:

Hope:

Alena always held out hope that Martin would warm up to her eventually.

Ice:

Martin was like a glacier. He was cool and steady and almost always dependable and irrevocably _there_.

Fire:

Alena was like fire. He was warm and kind, but had the ability to burn someone to cinders – the perfect contrast to his Ice.

Defense:

She would never forget the knife he took for her.

Gratitude:

He would never forget the way she helped drag his butt back to The Hall.

Heaven:

There was nowhere he would rather be than with her – even if he wouldn't admit it to anyone.

Memory:

She shouldn't have done it, but he remembers how she kissed him.

Red:

It was what Martin saw when Chris' goons insulted Alena.

Kick:

Martin held the icepack to his groin and _swore_ he was never tutoring Alena in self defense again, even if the kick had been an accident.

Waiting:

Even as Martin was on Nihran, Alena vowed to wait for him.

Stars:

She would sometimes look at the sky and wonder which one, if any, was the sun of Nihran and, inevitably, Martin.

Abandoned:

Alena wouldn't forgive the other Tzen for saying that Martin had abandoned them when he was fighting to save them.

Multitasking:

Martin stared at the sky, wondering which star was the sun… and at the same time wondered how Alena was doing… and prayed Chris wasn't messing with her.

Gray:

She loved how his eyes used to look before his transformation – the color of smoke.

Cat:

Martin, for some reason, reminded her of a cat – independent, feisty, arrogant and sometimes just a jackass.

Relaxation:

Martin found it was easy to relax when Alena was around, but impossible when she wasn't.

Stripes:

Alena snickered at the image Jason conjured when he mentioned Martin having a yellow stripe on his back… right before she slapped him for being an ass.

Hero:

He was hers

Lurking:

Even with the constant threat of the Zerolytes, Alena couldn't help but visit the gate where Martin had disappeared.

Obsession:

The Tzen accused her of being obsessed with Martin, and they were partly right.

Baggage:

Martin had more than a train station, and it was something that saddened Alena

World:

When Martin had watched Alena fall into the shaft, his world had almost ended.

Melody:

Whenever she heard classical music, she would always think of the dance they had shared.

Family:

The Tzen were both her family and Martin's… even if he stood on the outside as if he weren't.

Pain:

When the other Tzen spoke of Martin in the past tense as though he were dead, Alena felt her heart hurt in unimaginable ways at the thought.


End file.
